Road Tripping - Part 1: Washington

The last few months have been filled with magic! As the summer came to a close and the rain made its way towards Squamish, BC we began packing up and looking forwards toward our next adventure; our American road trip!
It was a beautiful day in Squamish the day we left, and as tempting as it was to stay and spend it in the forest, it was also lovely to leave this amazing town in all its glory. I don't think I will ever forget our time in Squamish, I am positive that the two and a half months that we spent in the adventure capital of Canada has changed me and my outlooks in many profound ways. That said, the end of our time in Squamish marked the beginning of what has been (thus far) an amazing journey. From Squamish we headed south to the USA boarder, a nerve racking experience with a van packed FULL of all our worldly possessions. We were almost certain that we would be stopped and searched at the boarder and thus our intention was to make it only as far as Bellingham, WA. By some amazing stroke of luck we were instead waved through and as such managed to make it all the way to Leavenworth, WA which was to be our home for the next three weeks.
The journey to Leavenworth was a little tricky, recent mudslides had closed major roads and thus we were left winding along detours through mountain passes hoping that our headlights would illuminate the way well enough to see us safely to our next home. Once we had passed through Leavenworth safely, thanks only to Josh's amazing skills, as my sleeping certainly didn't positively influence our safe arrival, we continued onto Icicle Canyon Road, along which free van camping is allowed and set up camp.
As the sun beckoned us into wakefulness the following morning we became aware of our changed environment. No longer were we surrounded by fairytale forests of British Columbia, instead we found ourselves encircled by arid hills and steep mountains alongside the booming white-water river of Icicle canyon. The arid environment was not at all what we were expecting from Washington, which often gets a bad rap for its near-constant rainfall, apparently this reputation is well deserved west of the Cascade Mountains, but Leavenworth's location to the east of this range makes for much drier conditions. After a slow start it was time to see what Leavenworth bouldering had to offer...the short answer is a LOT!!!
Leavenworth's offers the most unique granite bouldering that I have seen on this trip thus far. The huecos, pockets and incut jugs available offered the varied, strong and gymnastic movement more commonly associated with sandstone bouldering, whilst the slick topouts and crimps offered the technical challenges of granite; a pretty unique, and cool, blend. I found Leavenworth bouldering to be quite strength dependent. In Squamish I found that technique was ALWAYS the answer, climbs would seem tough for the grade until you unlocked a particular, and I mean PARTICULAR, foot placement, alternatively Leavenworth seemed to require a lot more power.
After visiting the likes of Red Rocks and Bishop, etc (all of which I will write about in subsequent posts) I can now see that Leavenworth is quite a "user-friendly" area, there are many short lines on offer, where a top out fall would leave only your nerves in tatters, not your ankles (this is certainly not available everywhere!) and there really is climbing available at all levels. Another remarkable thing about Leavenworth climbing is the quietness of the area, unlike Squamish, which is literally heaving with climbers on a summer weekend, you can often find that you don't bump into any other climbers on a day out in Leavenworth. The potential for new lines in Leavenworth is also overwhelming, as a relatively young area there are still so many unclaimed lines, simply awaiting an inspired, brush wielding climber to develop them!

An undeveloped line I found and we cleaned - unfortunately the rain prevented a first-accent

Unfortunately a kidney infection sidelined me for much of our time in Leavenworth and during our second week I spent more time at the hospital than I did at the boulders, that said, I cannot speak highly enough of Leavenworth as a climbing destination. I found myself slightly disappointed that we had spent more than two months in Squamish and allowed ourselves only a few weeks in Washington; Squamish was great, don't mistake my sentiments, but Leavenworth took me completely by surprise, I cannot wait to go back! I highly recommend that anyone heading to Squamish for the summer stops in at Leavenworth at the end of the Squamish season. Being so close to Leavenworth it would be a crime not experience what it has to offer.
What about rest days? Leavenworth is the craziest little town. More Bavarian themed than Bavaria itself; Leavenworth took on its quaint Germanic feel simply to differentiate itself from its neighboring communities, the town does not actually have any apparent ties to Bavaria. Despite the somewhat absurd reasoning behind branding itself as a Bavarian Village, Leavenworth's tourism market is booming as a result of this choice. Due to this tourism market, there is plenty to see and do on a rest day, just don't expect to find an available cost-free park on a weekend. Mini-golf, cinemas, crazy little shops and a pretty decent library are all available for the skin-growing climber.

Leavenworth: More Bavarian themed than Bavaria!

The start of our third week in Leavenworth came with rain; this rain was unyielding for the next couple of days and as such we decided to make the most of having a car and see if nearby Gold Bar would offer us more favorable climbing conditions. That it most certainly did NOT! The gentle, but constant, rain of Leavenworth was replaced by an all out mountain storm in Gold Bar. I have never experienced anything like this before, it was madness! The rain blew in horizontally, sticks and other debris were thrown against our car by the overwhelmingly strong winds and there were whole minutes wherein the lightning turned the sky otherworldly hues of purple, pink and orange. We literally spent the next three days in the back of the van hiding from the weather, getting up only to find food and to pee. Needless to say, many books were read during this time!

Not happy about the rain!

With sore backs and restless bodies we once again tried our luck at moving on to escape the weather, this time our hopes of climbing in Washington again were abandoned, instead we simply wanted to have the chance to get out of the car for 10 seconds without having to towel dry ourselves afterwards. Duvall was our next stop, for no particular reason, except that it had a library, was on our way to Seattle (our next planned stop) and it was not Gold Bar and as such may not share the horrible weather forecast we had seen. Duvall was heaven, though after days upon days of being couped-up in the back of the car, it really didn't take much to please us! The local library was super fancy, had fast internet and an extensive collection of very cheap second hand books to replace our dwindling van library and the rain had all but stopped. We spent the next couple of days at the library and enjoying being vertical again!
Our next stop was Seattle, as I had a meeting to attend there. It was a strange transformation swapping the comfortable climbing clothes that I have worn for the last few months for more formal attire, but a night in a hotel was a welcomed luxury for us both. After my meeting in Seattle, Josh and I headed to the Pike Place Markets, we only had half a day in Seattle and we thought this would be a cool place to spend it. We were right in this assumption.

Pike Place Market - where owners have attitude!

The Pike Place Market is as fabulous as it is varied. The local artists, some of whom seemed more 'creative' than talented, the displays by the fish mongers and the unique attitude of the store owners all intertwined to create a truly unique and chaotic atmosphere, once you visit you can understand why Starbucks chose this 'happening' place to open their flagship store. After excising great restraint, and making a few little purchases, it was time to leave the markets and to farewell Washington as we hit the road again. As with all the places we have been, it was sad leaving Washington, though as I have said before, in order to experience the new we must first part with the familiar and thus onto new places we journeyed.
Through the forests, blazing with the colors of autumn, we drove and into the mountains once more; as we left behind the fiery reds and lush greens of the forests and entered the yellow, sun-burnt, rolling hills of south-east Washington we began to realize that America is a great deal more varied than we had initially believed it to be. Overwhelmed by that which we had already experienced and eager to experience more, we drove into the night with hopeful anticipation of what Idaho would have to offer us....  

Congratulations on your non-achievement

Usually I try to avoid using my blog as a forum to have a rant, however today I am choosing to make an exception. The internet plays host to an overwhelming cacophony of self appointed authorities; many voicing their opinions as facts, often on topics they know little of, and now I am throwing up my arms in defeat and joining the string section. Since February Josh and I have mingled amongst the climbing communities of Adelaide, the Grampians, Fontainbleau, Magic Wood, Squamish and now Leavenworth and yes, on the most part, this has been an extraordinary, uplifting and inspiring journey, there have been moments, however, that have been less positive. Upon questioning, some people have been quite surprised to hear that Josh and I both have, at times, struggled to find motivation to climb, and even considered quitting climbing all together, at times on this trip. The truth of the matter is, there have been moments wherein I personally have found climbing to be an incredibly frustrating and at times confidence destroying activity. So how did something that I initiated solely for enjoyment transform into something that had the propensity to frustrate and upset me? Quite simply, we, as climbers, have tried to objectify something that is subjective in nature. In attempting to assign a value to that which we have climbed we have successfully adulterated the value in the activity itself.

Why do you climb? Seriously, ask yourself this; why do you? I hope the answer is because you enjoy it. You climb because it is fun, correct? Yet it seems that the majority of climbers I have met (no not everyone), often will not have enjoyed their day climbing if they feel that they should have achieved more than they did. We have all heard people report that they ONLY climbed a few V3's and wanted to get a V5 this trip, or the like, perhaps it would be better to think of the fact that you enjoyed a few days climbing rather than let, an often subjective, V-grade destroy it for you!

You may retort that you enjoy the challenge and that is why V-grades hold so much significance to you. If this is the case, then why are we so quick to dismiss our achievements? So many times I have heard people talk of the problem that they have been projecting for x amount of time and then when they finally get it they turn around and say, "I ticked my project today, it's a V-Whatever, but it was probably soft", or "I finally ticked that V-Whatever, I can't believe it took me so many tries". How exactly are you supposed to respond to this? If you are proud of what you achieved then be proud! State simply that you ticked your project, that it was a challenge, that you enjoyed it; you worked for it, take the congratulations you deserve! If it really was "soft",  or it really "shouldn't have taken so many attempts" then why tell people about it in the first place? What do you expect in return? Um, congratulations on your non-achievement? You are either proud of your effort, or you are not...pick! Or could it be that you are in fact proud, but you are simply worried that unless you justify the achievement people will mock you for being proud of it?

What does this say about our community?
Or, perhaps more importantly, what message does this send to those among us who are new to climbing?

I cannot answer this question. All I can report is the impact that it has had on me and the way in which I viewed my climbing. When climbers around me express that today they ONLY did a V3 (as an example) and that they are disappointed with this, it in some way makes a mockery of the V3 that I am proud of achieving. When they express that they ONLY made it up three problems today and therefore the day was a failed venture, it cast a shadow over the enjoyment I experienced today in the forest as I didn't top out anything. When they are embarrassed to express pride in their achievement of topping out a boulder of a grade that I have never climbed, it makes me question the worth of those problems I am proud of. Most importantly, statements like these shifted my focus from the enjoyment of climbing to the V-grade, and in doing so removed the perceived value from climbing and placed it solely on sending.

So where does this attitude come from?

I believe that it comes from the top, the middle and the bottom. Therefore no matter how you think of yourself as a climber, YOU have a responsibility to the confidence levels, enjoyment and perceptions of those around you. In order for the attitude of the community to change, we must all change individually.

I recently read in a problem description, from a published guide book, that a particular problem is "commonly climbed in sneakers"; what exactly is the purpose of this statement? To make those who cant get it in climbing shoes feel really shit about themselves? If there is nothing positive that could be gained from a  statement, and quite a bit of negative, then why state it in the first place? Another fine example of what I am talking about is the problem description that I read that says that a particular V1 is a nice little warm-up...for who exactly? Imagine if this was YOUR project, what impact would a statement like this have on the pride you would experience if you sent it? How would this statement effect your confidence if you could not?

Perhaps we, as individuals and a community, could make a change and support ourselves and those around us with positive reinforcement, rather than being so quick to point out the negative? Lets put the fun back in climbing! Must we all take ourselves and our climbing so seriously that we would prefer to objectify our achievements rather than enjoy them? Are we all so insecure that we must cut down the successes of those around us to make ourselves feel better? I hope not.

So the next time you top out a problem, before you race back to your guide book or 27crags page, before you tell your friends how easy it was, before you beat yourself up for taking so many attempts, before you think of the grade and whether this is within your normal 'flash ability' why not just stand on top for half a second and enjoy the moment for what it is? You have climbed! You are a climber! Ask yourself, did you have fun? If the answer is yes, then to hell with everything else, call it a win!

These are a few of my favourite things....

Before we left on this trip Josh and I spent a lot of time thinking about what we would actually need to to bring along with us to ensure that we could have a fun and safe trip. Having never been on a trip like this we could not draw on experience only to make these choices, so we turned to the net. There wasn't much info out there to be honest so I thought I would put together a couple of quick posts about what we brought with us and which products have made our lives easier while we have been on the road.
Whist Josh and I were already pretty well set up with our outdoor gear we decided to invest some money before we left on upgrading some of our gear. We chose products that we thought would either reduce the weight of our packs or simply increase our comfort during our travels.
Here are some of the products that we have found particularly handy over the last few months....

Kathmandu Water Container
This is a pretty simple, boring, product, but it is one that we have used EVERY day over the last six months. It is the so called boring products working well that is the difference between an amazing time and going hungry! There have been times on our trip when we have been a long way from a clean water source and as such having the ability to cart large amounts of water has been essential. We took 3 collapsible water containers on this trip with us, this is our favorite. The durability of this container is faultless, it pours quickly (unlike the others we have with us) and it collapses down to a size that is easy to fit in your pack.
We also have a Sea to Summit Pack Water Tap (10L) with us, which at first looked very promising. The tap on it is a bit slow and thus not as convenient and you have to lift it, rather than pour it, which at dinner time can call for a third hand. Other than this we really liked this product, it folded up super small compared to the Kathmandu container, BUT recently the bladder has been leaking. The water is leaking into the wall of the bladder making it look like it is still full but the water is inaccessible.

Wilderness Wash
This stuff is amazing! It cleans everything! Clothes, dishes and people! You use such a small amount and it is super affective! Trying to reduce you pack weight? Trow away everything else and take this super gel away with you!

MSR Quick 2 System Pot Set 
I am so glad we have this set with us! There might be lighter sets out there, but I doubt they provide as much comfort as this; this system packs up so neatly that it takes up hardly any room in your pack! Two pots, relatively non-stick, with one strainer lid and one easy to use detachable handle (lighter than pot grips and no fear of forgetting to squeeze and losing your dinner!), two deep plates/bowls and two thermos cups. The cups are the perfect balance between maintaining temperature and expelling enough heat that you can keep your hands warm on a snowy day. The whole system packs up into the 2.5L pot and weighs in under 800g! If you need to take a pot system away on a backpacking trip for 2 people, this is the one!

MSR Alpine Deluxe Kitchen Set

Did we need this? probably not...has it made our lives 1000times easier? YES! this compact little set is awesome! Included in this light weight system is everything you need to cook like you're at home while you are on the road. The grater works, as good as any I have used before! The knife is still sharp after 6months on the road! The spoon and spatula are all you need to cook with. The towel dries everything in the above pot set and is tiny! The chopping board is really solid but folds up small. And Josh's favorite bit....the scrubbing brush. We no longer use sponges, this clever little thing makes cleaning up SUPER easy! Backed on cheese is off in seconds! We left the sauce containers, salt and pepper shaker and bottle opener at home as we were trying to reduce our pack weight and these things didn't seem needed. I love this set and I am so glad we brought it along. On another note, Josh will probably never use anything else to clean dishes again.

Macpac Citadel 3 person Tent
Between Josh and I we already had 3 tents, two lightweight, high quality 2person tents and one budget, heavy, three person tent. We were torn, we certainly were not going to take the heavy tent with us, but could we live happily with each other and our packs in a 2 person tent for months at a time? We could cope, probably, but would it be a good experience, probably not. We were considering buying a cheap 3person tent while we were away and disposing of it at the end of our Europe trip, but that would add 10kgs(ish) to our already heavy packs during the time that we would be carrying them the furthest, this didnt make a lot of sense. We began looking around at what was available and in our searching found the Macpac Citadel 3 person tent. We managed to snag quite a deal on this baby (being an ex-showroom demo), however with Macpac's lifetime warranty, even at full price this would be a good investment. The tent itself is super roomy (the biggest of the 3person tents we looked at), but it is the front vestibule area that really sold us! The front vestibule is as big as the tent itself and so there is LOADS of room to store your bags, climbing gear, food boxes, bouldering pads, and pretty much anything else you have with you! Combine this with the rear vestibule and you have more storage space than you could ever need! Ever tried to get into your tent when its raining and managed to get your down sleeping bag wet in the process, its fun right...well that need never happen again, there is room in the vestibule to take of your rain shells before you get into the tent...everything stays dry!
We have TESTED this tent, 40degree days in the Gramps (yep it was hot, but everywhere was hot and this tent has loads more ventilation than most!) and -15degree nights in Magic Wood (we stayed snugly warm, no condensation dripping onto our sleeping bags in the night. It held up to the snow when lesser tents collapsed or leaked). Equally importantly, Josh and I had somewhere spacious to hide out during the relentless bad weather! Oh yeah and it only weighs 3.2kgs; put the tent and fly in a compression bag and you have a small lightweight parcel for your pack that transforms into a kingdom when you get to the camp!

Aquatabs Water Purification Tablets
Another pretty boring item, but this is another that has made a huge difference to our trip! There have been times when finding clean drinking water has been difficult, either hike it in or boil it, neither is really convenient for months on end. Before we left we invested in 150 of these little tablets. 1 tablet treats 1L of water and all you have to do is drop it in and wait 30minutes and voila, safe drinking water! There is hardly any taste caused by the tablets (you wouldn't notice any if you didn't know), certainly less than what comes out of the tap at home! The tablets are tiny and work a treat!
On a side note, we did read that they are easily crushed during travel so before we left we took them all out of the packaging and put them in a little pill container stuffed with cotton balls; none of our tablets broke.
 
Solar Shower
We were given a Kathmandu Solar Shower before we left, I haven't tried a different brand shower and as such I am not so much recommending this particular shower as much as bringing a solar shower of any brand. There have been times when it has been too cold to heat up the water, but the rest of the time it is a free shower, meaning that we can shower as frequently as we like without any additional cost. Combine this with a cheap tarp hanging from trees to give shelter, a carabiner on a sling to hang it high in a tree and you have a private shower anywhere in the world! Ours is 20L, has a decent sized shower head and lasts long enough for both of us to take showers without being conscious of leaving water for the next person. Quite a few people we have met along the way have said they wish they had thought to bring one along!

Mountain Designs Endeavour 80L Pack
There is a lot of information of the web about what size pack you should take on your trip abroad. All of them tell you the smaller the better; some say anything over 60L is excessive. None of this information considers a trip where you will be carrying climbing gear, tents, sleeping bags, pots and pans, utensils, first aid kits, thermarests or the like. Yeah, if I was only taking clothes I could also pack it in a day pack, but that was relevant to our trip.

Josh and I both got the Endeavor 80L Pack for this trip and we couldn't be happier. The unique BAR harness system has so much adjustability that if you are not comfortable it can only be that you have set it up wrong! The cool thing about this pack is that you can make all of the adjustments with the pack on, not comfortable? No need to stop just pull this cord. The packs came with an instructional DVD so we knew exactly how to set them up perfectly. They are not the lightest packs, but the extra padding means that when we needed to carry them for hours on end we were able to! The pack comes with a 10L day pack, the perfect size for days out in the city or the forest. It has a built in rain protector and the harness can be protected by a zippered flap for travel. Both the day pack and the 80L pack are hydration bladder compatible.
The bottom of the pack is able to be separated off, if you are carrying less than a full pack you can shut this part off and cinch it up to keep the weight where it is best tolerated (higher on your back). The pack offers top and bottom openings as well as a suitcase like opening in the middle, meaning you can easily access any part of your pack without having to pull everything out to find that one thing you are looking for! There are loads of individual pockets so its easy to keep track of the smaller things, helping you to stay organized along the journey.
We were considering getting a smaller pack, but I am so glad we didn't a year's worth of gear fits pretty snugly into this system and I wouldn't want the packs to be 1L smaller!

Crash Pads

Moon Saturn Crash Pad
This monster of a pad is amazing to land on! We traveled Europe with only one pad and even in Magic Wood's granite boulder fields with its heinous landings we were happy with just this pad! Unfolded the Saturn measures a whopping 160cm x 120cm x 11cm. The foam is great to land on even if you fall from really high! The clever folding system folds the bottom of the pad inwards, no more dirty backs! The harness is actually on the top of the pad, during use it tucks neatly away under a Velcroed flap. The taco design allows you to stuff it with as much gear as you can stand to carry! Its not a small pad, it is bulky but once you take your first big fall onto it you will be glad you hauled it into the boulders!

Metolius Recon Crash Pad - Best BIG Pad for a chick
I wanted a big pad, Josh and I are getting on some high problems and we have only one pad each. This one is awesome! It's a tri-fold pad so it folds up super slim for carrying, meaning I don't get stuck going through narrow passages, it's the same width as my shoulders! It doesn't come up above my head so high branches don't bother me. It weights only 6.5kg and it unfolds to a massive 1.06mx1.5m, try to miss that! The foam is great to land on and the tri-fold allows versatility when it comes to padding up small areas or over protruding rocks etc. The stash pockets look really small but I managed to fit, a jumper, a book, a guidebook, a pair of pants, a can of drink and some snacks in mine, so apparently looks are deceiving! The stash pocket is at the top so doesn't add any bulk when full; clip on your shoes and bucket to one of the outside handles and your good to go! As a short, not overly strong person it is great to carry a pad that doesn't threaten to blow me off of the cliff when a wind comes up and still provides a massive landing zone!
MSR DragonFly
We didn't buy this specifically for this trip, we had it before, however it is still worth mentioning. This stove weighs only 400g and packs up really small, exactly what you want when your whole life is being carried on your back!
We really put this stove to the test while we were in Magic Wood. When we are at home in the Gramps, we usually cook at sea level using shellite here the stove preforms faultlessly. We thought this was bound to change at significant altitude when the best fuel we could get our hands on was petrol! But, we were wrong! This truly is a multi-fuel stove. Even with petrol we had amazing flame control and we had no issues of the stoves lines becoming clogged, fellow campers using other stoves were not quite so fortunate. If you are looking for a small, lightweight stove that really can be used with any fuel I can certainly recommend this one!

LaSportiva Wildcat Shoes
I started this trip with a pair of Columbia Hiking Boots and a pair of Columbia kayaking shoes. I had purchased the kayaking shoes because they were super lightweight and they provided loads of ventilation during summers in the Gramps. These shoes sucked! The grip was ineffective, meaning that I fell over pretty much every day, add a bit of water into the mix and rock became as slippery as ice. It didn't take long before I gave up on my hiking boots as they gave me huge blisters and hurt the balls of my feet. Once I gave these up I spent a somewhat miserable time wearing incredibly non-waterproof shoes in the snow and rain....not fun!
After one fall too many, Josh finally managed to convince me to looking into new shoes and after looking around I picked the LaSportiva Wildcat 2.0 trail runners. These shoes are SUPER GRIPPY! I have worn them on wet slabs and they don't loose traction for even a second! The female specific design is narrow enough to suit my tiny feet and the Gortex exterior keeps my feet dry regardless of the weather (a very welcomed change!)
Buying these shoes changed my trip, hikes I thought I would die if I tried were made possible and fun! Before buying these shoes I thought I slipped over loads because I was clumsy, since buying these I haven't fallen once! 

LaSportiva Solutions
I love these shoes! I came away on this trip with a pair or women's LaSportiva Miura VS shoes and I love them, but the Solutions are a welcomed addition. The Solutions made the technical footwork required for Font and Squamish's slabs so much easier, the sole is less aggressive than the Miura allowing you to open your foot and get more contact between the rock and the rubber when smearing. Additionally the rubber coated toe is amazing for toe-hooking. The heel is less sensitive that the Miura and as such normally I will turn to my Miuras for any heelhooks, however this lack of sensitivity can be a good thing on sharp crystals when you want to protect your foot a little more. I have worn mine for a few months now (most days) and they DONT STRETCH, the mid section has stretched a bit making them easier to get on and off, but the toe box is the same size! Don't buy these shoes small hoping they will stretch, if they hurt in the shop they will hurt every time you wear them!

Well that's pretty much it. Obviously this is not all of the gear we have with us, but the decision to bring these items away with us has shaped our trip for the better!

Sunny Squamish!

And so the road trip was paused for a few months as we settled into our new home; Squamish, BC. There is too much I to tell you about how beautiful Squamish is in the summer! The way the sun sparkles off of the water of the Sound in the morning light. The pink color of the snow on the surrounding mountains at dusk. The way the chipmunks and squirrels playfully skip in and out of the forest. There are a thousand little things that make the magic that is Squamish. But alas, I must resign myself to only conveying a miniscule part of this magic, as once again I do not possess the words to convey the charm of this place.

V0 slab climbing...not as easy as it sounds!

We have had the opportunity to do heaps of climbing here, and once again the boulders are unlike any I have experienced before. The rock is like a strange combination of Font and Magic Wood. Font's slabs and unfeatured rock unite with Magic Woods classic granite blocks, making Squamish bouldering a tough mix of technical and strong climbing. I have to admit to being disheartened for the first few weeks of climbing here, at first climbing V0s seemed an impossible goal as I struggled to read the rock. Slowly I have learned to move in the unique way that Squamish boulders require, however I am often still being schooled on V0s. The forest is amazingly beautiful and every day that we head out for a climb we enter a magical world. Perhaps all of the great fairytale authors drew the inspiration for their stories from the Squamish forest, as this is exactly the place I imagined as a child when my mother read to me of fairies, unicorns and other magical creatures.

Paradise Valley Bouldering Area

There is so much more to Squamish than climbing, though the climbing is world class! Pretty much any outdoor sport is accessible here. Josh and I have tried to take the time to experience as many of Squamish's offerings as we can; we will, however, certainly leave here having only scratched the surface. The summer has given us some amazing weather to explore the numerous lakes surrounding the town. It didn't take us long to realize how majestic the lakes are and we soon decided we wanted to spend as much time on them as possible and thus we justified the purchase of our inflatable boat, Dora - the Explorer. After a session in the forest we would head to the lake and swim until dinner time in the crystal clear waters. There is a magical vibrancy and life surrounding the lakes here - everything is so brilliantly green!

Josh and Sam taking Dora out for a spin

While we have been in Squamish I have also had the chance to really test out my knee. Up until this point I have looked forward to regaining the abilities that I had prior to hurting my knee, heel hooking, high steps and the like (all of which I am happy to say I have once more), but in the last few weeks I have for the first time done things that I could not have done prior to my injury! It is exciting to know that in some ways my strength and fitness has surpassed that which I possessed before I hurt myself. I cannot express the pride and joy I experienced when I reached the summit of the Chief, it was beyond my wildest expectations that I would be capable of doing such a walk with my bung leg. Suddenly the world has grown and there is so much I look forward to doing. Together my leg and I have managed to hike to some pretty beautiful places!

On the way to the top of the Chief

At the summit of the Chief - thanks Josh for convincing me to give it a try!

In the summer the Sea to Sky corridor comes alive, the festivals are too numerous that one simply cannot attend them all, that is unless that is all you were to do. We managed to get to a few. Hevyfest slacklining fesival was the first; Josh, Tim and I headed down to the Kite Surfing Beach and enjoyed some 30ish lines set up there. We had a blast playing on the lines (I even attempted to hula on one...this wasn't a particularly successful experiment) and when we were knackered there were some super talented peeps pulling all kinds of outrageous tricks to keep us entertained!

Josh and I headed into town to watch the Dyno competition at the Climbing Festival. Our main intention was to check out the expo that was taking place, to perhaps enter a few draws and look around at the gear on show. Somehow during this time I was convinced to try the dyno competition (though I had never tried to dyno before) and although I didn't do too well in the comp, I did manage to learn to dyno. During the comp Josh and I scored loads of free stuff, t-shirts, chalk, snacks and a DVD and we also had the chance to learn from the best as we watched one of the competitors attempt to break the world record, he came painfully close!
 

That's me judging the world champs!

Next it was Squamish Days - the Loggers Sports Festival. This was a mixture of hilarity and talent. On the first day Tim and I headed to the World Championship Chair Carving event; a pretty informal event given the gravity of its title. Here we watched as the competitors showed off the speed, creativity and artistic skill as they wielded chainsaws carving some impressively creative chairs out of their logs. What was the coolest thing that happened this day? I judged the event, yep that's right....I got to pick the winners! Oh and I also got a free t-shirt, though its a bit big haha. The excitement of the Squamish Days festival didn't end their. Later that weekend Josh, Sam and I headed to the Logger's Sports arena (yep there is such a thing) and settled in to watch some ridiculously impressive events at the Junior and Novice Loggers Sport Competition. Here we watched as people climbed 80ft logs, up and down, in under 10seconds. The competitors climbed, sawed, chopped and cut and the short story is the three of us were thoroughly entertained for hours!

Loggers Sports Arena

Free gondola ride up Blackcomb Mtn at Crankworx

 Most recently Josh and I headed up to Whistler to get to Crankworx mountain bike festival. The weather was a bit ordinary but we had a blast. The streets of Whistler Village were packed full of excitement, stalls and bikes. Josh and I enjoyed perusing the expo sampling the free treats. The highlights for me (apart from the free food, which made me pretty happy!) were the pumptrack competition and the Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival. The Cheese rolling festival was the funniest thing, groups of crazy people headed up Blackcomb Mountain, fully decked out in protective gear, and launched themselves down the mountain chasing after a wheel of cheese. The only thing more impressive than the free cheese samples were the tumbles that people had in the wet conditions as they singlemindedly chased the cheese. You think they are crazy don't you? That's because you don't live in Canada, the land of the overpriced cheese! Seriously, cheese is like gold here and if I didn't think I would have died (what with no protective clothing and a predisposition to falling over) then I would have chased that damned cheese with as much gusto as the rest of them!!!

Chasing the Cheese!

The chronological order of our experiences here in Squamish is lost on me and as such it shall also be missing from this post haha. I am more interested in telling you what we have been up to, and trying not to forget too much, than I am in telling it in order, so forgive me if you find yourself wondering how the timing works.

Tim, Josh and Sam at the beautiful
Shannon Falls!

Josh and I have enjoyed spending time with some great friends while we have been in BC. We were super excited to see Mel and Rob who moved to Squamish after living in the Grampians for a while. Our good friend Tim also headed out this way from Aus for an extended climbing trip and Josh's best mate Sam came over for a few a couple of weeks. In this way we have been spoiled with familiar faces at just the moment we needed a touch of home! After having been away from home for over 6 months now it was a really welcomed respite to be surrounded by our friends.
While Sam and Tim were here we all headed up to Whistler for a weekend of adventure! Thanks to a generous gift from my Dad, Josh and I had bank (a pleasant change)! On the Thursday we headed up to Whistler, another memorable drive, soo beautiful! We decided to camp in Callaghan Lake Provincial Park, this being the only free camping spot near the town. The park was beautiful, secluded and lush. The only downfalls being the 6km terrible dirt road, fit for 4WDs (which our car is most certainly not) and the march flies which enjoyed irritating us.
The lake was worth it!

Callaghan Lake - not a bad view to wake up to

On the first night I went for a swim. The water was chilly so the others didn't want to join, floating alone in the clear waters of this massive lake, gazing up at the mountains guarding its boarders is not something I am likely to forget anytime soon.
The next day we woke early and headed up to Cougar Mountain where we would enjoy 3 hours of tree top adventure at SuperFly. I cannot recommend this place enough, we had an absolute blast! The tree top adventure included zip lines, flying foxes, balance logs, Tarzan swings, rope challenges and sooo much more. The setting was incredible as we balanced our way across the ropes above the forest and river; the further into the course we got, the higher and more challenging the obstacles became. The guides were amazing, letting us go at our own pace and realizing our level of experience (as climbers) and tailoring the adventure to suit us, even letting us backtrack to repeat the best obstacles multiple times. After our tree top adventure we headed into the Village to have a look around; what a cool town!

Playing around in Whistler Village

The next day the pace changed as we headed to Scandinave Spa. Here we spent 5 hours indulging in hot-cold therapies at the Thermal Baths. Here is how the day went....15minutes in the hot spa, 10seconds in a Nordic Shower, 15minutes chilling by the fire on the deck; 15minutes in the sauna, 10seconds in Nordic waterfall, 15minutes chilling in a hammock in the sun. And so the day went repeating the cycle, 15mins hot, 10seconds cold, 15minuts relaxing for FIVE blissful hours. The spa is a silent zone allowing you to truly immerse yourself in the relaxation of the moment. AMAZING! The next day we headed back to Squamish (the trip out was a little stressful for Josh who managed to get us out of Callaghan Valley in the nick of time as a mountain storm rolled in and the the road conditions worsened, just a bit longer and we would have been stuck for sure!)

Shannon Falls, Squamish

Back in Squamish we were spoiled by Sammy who put us up in his hotel! And so out of our van we moved and into a luxurious world of real beds, long relaxing baths, hot tubs and an immense swimming pool with a surprisingly fast fully enclosed slide (what this slide is doing in a hotel I have no idea, but we certainly enjoyed its presence). Once again the time to say farewell sneaked up on us as Sammy headed back to New Zealand and Tim headed off to the Bugaboos (we will be seeing Tim again soon when he makes his way back to Squamish). But Squamish certainly has been the place where familiar faces are popping up and so continued the trend. Recently Josh and I have enjoyed bouldering with my friend Ed and a great couple of days with my Uncle and friends of my family in Vancouver, heading out to watch a game of box lacrosse and to IHOP for a feast of a breakfast that kept both Josh and I full well past dinner time!

At the lacrosse with Uncle Rob

The summer weather is slowly disappearing, Dora is packed up, deflated in our van, shorts are being replaced by pants and climbing on a particular day is no longer a given as the rain begins to move in. As the remaining days of good weather draw to a close, so to does our time in this beautiful part of the world. In a mere two weeks Josh and I will journeying on down into Washington State for the next stage of our adventure. That said, their is still a lot of adventure left in our remaining time in Squamish. Next week we will be once again joined by Tim and we will hopefully make our way up the five pitch Skywalker at Shannon Falls. Our friend Lukas will also soon arrive and Josh and I are both looking forward to getting out on some boulders with him (Lukas visited us in Magic Wood but was not able to climb with us then due to a finger injury...we shall make up for lost time!). Josh and I are also planning a four day 44km hike next week up to Mamquam Lake (approximately 2500m above sea level).

Josh and I have had the chance to experience so many new things here and all the while we have been surrounded by some of our favorite people. This adventure is life changing; and yes there are moments when it is not all sunshine and lollypops, when the lack of familiarity becomes overwhelming, but all in all I wouldn't change one moment. I am blessed to have this opportunity and I cannot wait to see what else is in stall for us!

Squamish Bound

It seems that all of my recent blogs (the term 'recent' obviously being used loosely) begin in the same manner, with a realization of how long it has been since the last time I had the discipline to sit down and write and with my wondering how I am ever going to write about all that has happened during said time. I hope that the lack of frequency in my posts only goes to highlight how great a time we are having on our trip, in that we rarely find a moment of non-excitement to sit and reflect. That said it is in this reflection time that we are able to truly appreciate all that has come to pass. Josh and I had a wonderful time in Europe and the UK after Magic Wood, however I am hoping to come back to the end of our Europe trip at another time, in another post, for now let's fast forward to New York City and the beginning of our America and Canada trip.

Dinner at Grand Central Station with my bro

The only exciting thing to come of our 4 day bus trip

It could be said that Josh and I took the scenic route from London to Edmonton, but before you judge it we managed to do it for AU$250 each!!! After arriving into NYC from London in the afternoon we met up with my brother for a VERY quick tour of downtown New York. It was great to see my brother again and to see how well he had settled into this amazing city. It was also great to get back to NYC and to have a chance to show Josh some of the sights. After the brief tour it was off to dinner at Grand Central Station, my favorite building in New York. After dinner it was to the Greyhound station and time for Josh and I to board our FOUR day bus ride to Edmonton. I wish I could say that the ride was quick, that we had plenty to do and that the scenery made up for the length of the journey, unfortunately that was not the case! The ride was heinous. We boarded our first bus from New York at about 10pm, it was everything Greyhound promises, WIFI, power sockets and comfy seats, thinking this would continue for the entire journey we closed our eyes for the night. When we woke up from our restless sleeps it was morning, we were in Toronto and it was time for a few hour stopover, then onto the next bus. The next bus was to take us to Winnipeg. Now that we had slept it was time to take advantage of the WIFI and plugs, but this bus did not have any, nor did any of the buses we caught for the next three days. Over the next three days two exciting things happened...Josh's feet swelled to the size of his thighs and....no, actually I was wrong nothing else exciting happened haha.

Canada Day Celebrations with Jaye

Eventually we reached Edmonton and once we arrived the trauma of the previous few days vanished! I have said before, and I will say again, it truly is the people we are meeting that makes this journey so unforgettable. While we were in Edmonton we were hosted by friends of my aunt and uncle on their old street; never has their been a street of more wonderful people! To Val and David, Harvey and Jaye and Lisa and Leeroy thank you! Thank you for being such wonderful hosts to us, for your AMAZING generosity and for showing us such a good time! Josh and I are blessed to have met you all! Our time in Edmonton went far too quickly but it was certainly packed full of highlights! Amazing meals with our hosts, buying our Van, trips to Edmonton Mall and soo many more.

After buying "Van Helsing" (our van, who sometimes give us hell) we headed out with Jaye to get all we needed to camperize him. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this conversion, you know who you are, we couldn't have done it without you.

Setting up the kitchen, stocked with food from the family!

Once Josh had finished cleverly knocking together a bed frame it was time to think about making tracks, but not without first making one last stop at Edmonton Mall. Thanks to Brad and Ashley, who gave us tickets to the theme park and water park within the mall, we were able to spend one EPIC day riding roller coasters and the craziest water-slides in the world. Seriously, let me tell you about just one of them. You are locked into an entry chute, basically a perspex coffin, then the countdown begins...."Launching in....3......2.....1.........then.....the floor disappears and you free fall 12 stories before making a loop upside down and dropping again. As I said EPIC!
All good things must come to an end and with that our time in Edmonton drew to a close. Farewells were said reluctantly and Josh and I began looking forward towards our next adventure.

First glimpse of the roller coasters at Edmonton Mall

And so the road trip began...we were Squamish bound! The drive from Edmonton to Squamish was the most beautiful drive of my life. From Edmonton we made our way through Jasper National Park to Mt Robson Park. As we neared the parks the landscape was transformed, mountains appeared bursting out before our eyes; soon the streams and lakes took on an icy glacial blue and we were met on the road by Mountain Goats, Deer and Bear!

Jasper National Park

Mount Robson - the largest Mountain in the Canadian Rockies

After Mount Robson we made one last detour heading south into the Okanagan Valley. Once again the landscape transformed before our eyes as glacial waters were, once again, replaced by deep blue, still, inviting water. Snow capped mountains were replaced with mountains abundant in life. We had entered a beach side paradise! We picked sweet cherries from trees and enjoyed the water in Lake Country before setting off again.

In a mere few hours we were heading north out of Vancouver along the stunning Hwy 99, the mesmerizing Howe Sound signalling that we had made it. We turned into the Chief car park and looked up at its might. We had arrived, we were home!

Looking over the Howe Sound from the Chief car park

Magic Wood

To say that it has been a long time since my last post would be to make a gross understatement. In no way does the recent frequency (or, perhaps, the lack there of) of my writing reflect the level of excitement in our lives! So much has happened over the last couple of months that I find myself at a loss as to where to begin! I suppose the best way to begin would be simply to chose a destination and tell you about it, would you not agree? So here goes, lets start this story in a campsite, girt by a raging river, in the mountains of Switzerland....

Magic Wood
If any forest is more worthy of the name Magic Wood than that lying between Andeer and Ausserferrera, Switzerland, I am yet to have seen it! Bursting with life, ferociously delicate and overwhelmingly serene, Magic Wood will steal the first breath from your lungs (quite literally) each morning as you open your eyes to the majesty of its mountainous setting. It is getting this breath back that proves difficult, set at approximately 1'500m above sea level a stroll through Magic Wood can seem strangely laborious when you first arrive. When we arrived in Magic Wood at the beginning of May, we were greeted with snow on the ground, wet bocks and an ominous looking sky, unfortunately over the next six weeks not a great deal changed! During our time at Magic Wood it rained a lot, eventually both Josh and I were able to find lines that inspired us that were dry and finally I was able to experience granite bouldering for the first time in my life!

Josh on Super Nova 7c

Unnamed boulder 6a+

Our opportunities to get out and climb seemed to be as fleeting as a flame in the wind at altitude (and trust me after endeavouring to light fires for warmth each day and night I am very aware of how short lived this flame is!). In some ways the terrible weather that we experienced was a blessing, had it not been for the rain forcing us to abandon camp and take refuge in the guest house most days we may not have met the amazing people who made our time at Magic Wood truly memorable! The rainy days were passed with game after game of Rummy 500, Uno, Yatzee, Chess and Red 7's. The less rainy days, and the few sunny days we enjoyed, were spent in the forest throwing ourselves at our latest projects.

U-Boot 6c - learning to heel hook again :)

For me the climbing in Magic Wood was for the most part frustrating. Having not found a great deal of information on Magic Wood before we left from Australia we were unsure what to expect. Each story we heard of Magic Wood seemed to contrast the last to such a degree that drawing any conclusions on what would await us seemed impossible. Climbers we respect had told us stories from their time in the Woods ranging from 'the best place I have ever been' to 'not worth going at all'. It is only now after visiting that I understand the reason for these contrasting remarks. It all comes down to the fact that if you are climbing 7a and above Magic Wood is a theme park packed full of boulders to inspire and challenge you, if you are climbing below 7a Magic Wood may not be the best place to visit, places like Fontainebleau offer a great deal more variety at this level and may be more inspiring. Magic Wood does not offer a large number of problems below 6c (and the 6c's are tough), factor in that a large number of these 'lower grade' problems have the terrible landings associated with granite climbing and that some are so high that even the bravest amongst us will probably be searching for a belay bolt and you are not left with a great deal to climb. The climbs that are available below 7a are of value, please do not mistake me as saying that they are not, in fact some are great, but perhaps you will find greater value in a region offering more variety - especially if you are planning to stay for a while. In addition to the low number of climbs at my grade, my experience at Magic Wood was unfortunately dampened when my bad knee decided that it did not like the cold...at all! Between the somewhat epic walk-ins and my knee refusing to let me weightbear on the cold days I often found myself sat at camp with very little hope of being physically able to get into the forest. Oh well, it is a long time until my leg will need to tolerate temperatures below -10 and by then I fully expect it to be stronger and more healed, so nothing to worry about!
During the time in Magic Wood I got strong (at least compared to where I was before), unlike the delicate balance-dependant moves of Bleau, Magic Wood is strength dependant climbing. I learned to heel hook with my right leg again (well!), something I haven't able to do since I injured my knee. I learned to mantel and compression climb. I had amazing times with new friends and old. I built snowmen and made snow angels. I slept in a tent in the snow. I saw mountains and streams more beautiful than any I have seen before. And above all, I spent six weeks in a majestic wonderland, with my favourite person in the world!

Snow Day!

Josh's 1st Snowman...EVER!

Our Cosy Home

Some tips if you are planning a Magic Wood trip;

• Maybe wait until you are climbing at least 7a
• If you are going for an extended time consider having a car*
• At the start of the season you can get bad weather, but in the peak it will be super busy, decide what you would rather
• Take food for the first night, don't rely on the shop at the campground being open, you might go hungry - we did!
• The bus to Andeer is expensive, make your journey worth the money and get everything you need
• EVERYTHING in Andeer is closed on Sunday and they siesta every afternoon, go in the morning or the afternoon, not lunch time!
• Thusis is further away, but the shops are bigger and much cheaper
• Remember Switzerland has a different power point to the rest of Europe, you will need an extra adaptor 

* - It is possible to be in Magic Wood quite happily without a car. The bus from Andeer drops you directly outside the campground. The blocks are accessed from the campground by foot, thus you don't need a car to get to any of the climbing. The Edelweiss Guesthouse is about a 10minute walk from camp and provides internet, food and drinks, charging stations, TV and Xbox. There is normally someone who you can get a lift into town from, or someone who will pick up what you need when they go shopping. BUT - if it is raining chances are you can probably find better weather in a valley not too far away, if you have a car you can probably find somewhere to climb regardless of the weather, if you don't have a car and the weather turns foul, bad luck you just have to wait it out!

Innsbruck
During the middle of our time in Magic Wood we decided to go to Innsbruck (thank you to all of you who gave us gifts that allowed this to happen) to watch the Bouldering World Cup. Heidi (the friend we met in Fontainbleau) had passed on our details to her friend Barbara and before we knew it Barbara and Mathias had offered to have us stay during our time in Innsbruck, not just Josh and I, no FOUR of us! They had never met us, and actually didn't even know how we knew Heidi before they welcomed us into their home! I know what you are thinking, what legends! Right?!

Our Awesome Hosts!!!

Unfortunately, we had to wait a couple of days before we would truly find out how awesome they actually are! When we arrived in Innsbruck Barbara and Mathias had only five minutes until they had to leave to go to the cinema, after quick introductions, a tour around their fabulous abode and instructions on how to get into town they were off and we were alone in their home. Overwhelmed by their trust and generosity we sat in shock for a while! Soon we made our way into the Market Place to meet up with Nick and the Sweeds (three awesome guys we had met in Magic Wood who decided to join us in Innsbruck for a final party to end their three months of travelling around California and Europe). The walls were set for the competition and we decided to celebrate our being there with a few drinks with great people!

Team Sweden!

By the time we woke the following morning Barbara and Mathias had already left for work and we were still yet to have spoken more than 10 words to the couple who had been so generous to us. After a quick breakfast it was time to explore the city. And what an AMAZING city it is!!! Words cannot describe how beautiful Innsbruck is, mountains on every side, river though the middle, cute colourful houses the city oozes character! In contrast to our subzero rainy conditions in Magic Wood the 25 degrees, sunshine and ice-cream we experienced in Innsbruck felt heavenly! Not for the first time since starting this blog I find my vocabulary insufficient, words to do justice to the beauty of Innsbruck fail me and so again I will turn to photos in the hope that they can convey what I am unable to.

After watching the kids tear it up at the blocparty, we headed back home to have dinner with and finally properly meet our hosts. Barbara cooked lasagne for everyone and even made a special gluten free pasta for me. Over dinner conversation flowed easily and we found that our hosts were truly awesome!!! Hopefully at a point not too far in the future we are able to return the favour to them and have them stay with us in Australia!
The next day the qualifications for the world cup began, it was great to cheer on James and our new friend Sandeep! The problems were thought provoking and the athlete's ability to make them look easy was perplexing and above all else inspiring. In a controversial twist the weather took a turn for the worst after the first half of male athletes had completed the first of the boulders (A1 and B1). Strangely, the organisers had only seen the need to cover boulders 2-5 leaving boulders A1 and B1 exposed to the elements. After the rain set in the competition was paused after some time the officials decided that it would be unsafe to have athletes compete on these problems and as such cancelled the first wall. Sounds like a good solution unless you were one of the first 20 athletes whose position on the leader board was greatly impacted by the cancelling of this boulder, not to mention the fatigue these athletes took into the second problem compared to the freshness of the rest the group. Sadly neither James nor Sandeep qualified, however both should be proud of the examples that they have set to all of the climbers in their respective countries, they have truly proven that with hard work all dreams are possible, regardless of where you are from!

James on A1

After the female qualification finished, we made our way home, losing Claire and the now time obsessed Lukas somewhere in the park (they were a bit drunk to say the least). Don't worry Claire I wont tell anyone you fell asleep at the comp ;). After eventually finding our lost comrades we got home in time to join Barbara and Mathias and their friends for a few more drinks and some youtube laughs. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR_byRbXxvs Check it out haha)
Then it was final day, we arrived at the market place early to ensure that we could get seats and settled in for the entertainment! During the Semis the first female competitor had us all convinced that the problems were too easy, near on topping all of them, it was only later when the big names struggled on the same problems that we realised that the problems were in fact not easy, rather this girl was very strong! The quality of the problems seemed to improved the longer the competition went on and the home crowd support for Killian and Anna was deafening and electric! During the break between Semis and Finals Barbara and Mathias took us on a local's tour of the city, leading us to good food and great views of the city!

The sun set below the mountain ridge, spilling colours through the sky, colours that danced across the water of the river beside us as thousands of people spilled into the market place taking their place for the main event, the Finals! The atmosphere was immense, the stage was set, the crowd screamed as their favourites took to it. The athletes fed off of the crowd's enthusiasm and pulled of amazing fetes that only added to the roar! The competition was unpredictable and the result was not decided until the final boulder for both the males and females. A double win for Germany, much to Lukas' delight! Home favourites Anna and Killian both made the podium much to the crowd's delight and when it was all over I knew that we had just witnessed the most impressive competition climbing I had ever seen. I was inspired and could not wait to train again!
The excitement did not finish with the awarding of the medals, far from it actually! Following the competition was the after party... a surreal event! It seemed the more I drank the better my German speaking abilities became and before I knew it I found myself having conversations with Udo Neumann about what makes the German team so strong auf Deutsch! Carving up the dance floor with friends we were surrounded by all of the biggest names in the climbing world! Pretty amazing really! Some time around 4am the party finished and we dragged ourselves home again.
After a bit of a sleep in we were at a loss for what to do with our final day in Innsbruck. Claire had decided to walk up one of the mountains, something that my knee and my hangover did not want me to do and so soon it was decided that Barbara and Mathias needed to be taken to the Bouldering gym to see what all the fuss was about!
On the way home from the gym, after having an awesome time on plastic, we stopped off for some more amazing views! The time we spent in Innsbruck was sooo much more amazing than I expected it to be and my expectations we pretty high!

The following day we packed up and set of early, Lukas had decided to take us to visit Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. I had learned about Neuschwanstein when I was young in German classes and I was excited to finally visit the castle that Disney stole for their logo, to see the fairy tales painted on the walls and ceilings, it was spectacular and was the perfect end to our Innsbruck adventure!